Pours a half finger of head on the darkest brown body.
The aroma is grainy.
The taste is hoppy, spicy with moderate bitterness. Nice.
The texture is crisp.
It has a mellow bitterness and a nice darkness.

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a very dark mahogany brown with little light transmission and a fine, two finger dark khaki head with great retention and tons of lacing. Aroma of citrus and piney hops, mild dark malt, citrus rind. Flavor follows, dominated by citrus and piney hops with a light resinous character, supported by dark, lightly toasted malt, with interesting fruit flavors developing into the finish which has a lingering pine and citrus rind bitterness. Quite nice lightly creamy medium body and mouth feel. A very well balanced CDA; the malt seems subdued at first, but does a beautiful job of mellowing out and supporting the hops which have a nice pine and citrus profile. Interesting fruit flavors are revealed in the finish that resemble Belgian yeast and are light enough to add a very nice note to compliment the malt and hops. I like this style a lot and this is one of the best I've had. Perhaps a bit understated, but delicious. And Pfriem labels it correctly and Cascadian Dark Ale.

A — Pours a deep pitch black color with some deep ruby red hues around the edges when held up to extreme light. Excellent head retention from a billowy cappuccino like head that forms on top of the beer.

S — Smell is citrusy, quite vibrant, very bright. Notes of pine, lemon, very aromatic. Little to no presence of roasted or dark malts. Little bit of char, but it is dominated by ridiculous hops.

T — Chewy dark malts initially, leading way to a lemony and pungent citrus tone, some fir and pine needles show an earthy and bitter, pithy character; dark and bitter. Notes of coffee and dried bakers chocolate. All that said, it is still very hop focused and concentrated, lacks a bit of the malt punch expected in the style.

M — Nicely carbonated, some warming attributes on the way down. Creamy and smooth, dry overall.

O — Very good overall. Though it is remarkable to be this dark and this hoppy. Drinks like an IPA, it just happens to be pitch black. No real presence of dark malts. Leaves a bit to be desired, still very good.

Bottled on a week ago. Near perfect in my mind. A dank bomb right here. The roasted malt Is a little subdued making way for the earthy quality of a double ipa. Not sure of the hops used but if mosaic and simcoe were here I wouldn't be surprised. Most cdas feel like a hopped up porter or stout but this more ipa. Think resin hops instead of burnt malt.

Deep, rich, dark brown with reddish undertones. Creamy, tan head with solid lacing. Aroma is pine, toffee, and some hints of vanilla, spice, & fruit. Flavor is earthy and sweet. Herbal qualities, as well as some pine & citrus hops bitterness and bite. The flavor truly gets better as the beer warms a bit. Resinous mouthfeel and slightly bitter aftertaste. A truly fine beer, one I look forward to and anticipate each year come late fall.

Served in straight pint glass. Poured a translucent medium black, with a bit of a reddish tint, and about 1/2 inch of light khaki colored head that had moderate retention and very good lacing.

The aroma featured a solid malt foundation with some nice floral and citrus hops on top. The taste was pretty similar, nice malts, and even, complimentary hops. What I liked best was the fact that there really wasn't a noticeable roast aspect, which I generally find objectionable about the style. This beer was was nicely balanced and I liked the flavors a good bit.

The body was pretty typical, right around smoothly medium. Drinkability was very good, I had several of these a few nights ago, and I don't generally care for this style. Overall, a very good example of the style. Certainly worth your time if you see it.